Richmond dispatch. [volume] (Richmond, Va.) 1884-1903, 1887-02-20
THE GOLDEN FLEECE.
A COLLAR BESTOWED uPoH THE COUNT
DE PARIS.
Something About the History Of the W.
dsr-cersmony Of Investiture-
The Oath, &C.

kllbs ~ - ihtliti nAfS"
Queen Regent of Spain should have
waited until the Count de Paris was
banished from France TO bestow on HIM
the collar of the Golden Fleece: inns
is putting the " claimant TO the throne
on an equality with the President OF
the republic with vengence and
do not think that this royal move has
gained her Majesty any friends IN
France. She might have been sahs-
fed with the fact that the Counts four
uncles-Nemours Montpensier, Au-
male. and Joinyille-were long since adj
mitted membersof the ToisondOr. The
order itself is one OF the eldest now IN
existence. 1t was instituted on the
10th of January, 1929, by Philip Ill,
snrnamed the Good, Duke OF Bur
glndy and Count of Flanders, on the
occasion Of his marriage to the lnfanta
Isabella, daughter of Juan L. OF Portu,
gal. 1t was intended to be reward
for acts of courage, the membership
beign limited to twenty-four knights,
and st. Andrew was selected as its
patron saint. In 1906 Charles V. IN
creased the membership to fifty-one,
and amended the statutes so as to
limit their selection to princes, Spanish
grandees, and subjects who had
rendered eminent service to the State.
The grand-mastership was restricted
to the head of the house of Burgundy,
and it is as the descendant of the Dukes
of Burgundy, through the marriage OF
Archduke Philip /. to Donna Juana,
daughter of Ferdinand V. and Isabella,
that the King of Spain now fills that
office. II is precisely the same order
as the Fleece of Gold of Austria Hun
gary. After the war for the succession
this other one was transferred to Spain,
with the Flemish provinces of the en-
pire but, in 1713, the Emperor Charles
VI. coded it back to Austria, and, after
a good deal of negotiation, it was
agreed that it should be the common
appendage of the crowns of Spain and
Austria. The object of its founder in
instituting it is defined in two lines,
which form part of his epitaph
Pour maintenir Peglise, qui est de Dieu
naison, TAI mis- sus lie noble ordre qu'on
nomme folsom"
Its insignia are: The collar, COM
posed of double gold chain, the LINKS
set with flint stones enaInelled blue sur
rounded with flames and connected by
small double links and gold pendant
attached to the collar by cross made of
a flint stone surrounded by flames, and
representing
GOLDEN FLEECE
or sleeps skin hung by the middle.
This collar and pendant are only worn
at certain great ceremonies, such as
chapter meetings, royal weddings, etc.
on ordinary occasions the pendant, or
fleece alone, is worn, hung round the
neck by red ribbon. The cloak is of
crimson velvet, lined with white satin
and embroidered with gold st. An
drew's cross. The cape is of red vel
vet At mourning ceremonies, such
as funerals and anniversary masses, the
knights wear black coats and caps at
the feasts of the Virgin these are of
white MORE silk, and the sword belt is
gold and the cape red,
At the present time there are 100 col
lars of the Golden Fleece-50 Spanish
and 80 Austrian. These are the per-
sonal property of the King of Spain
and the Emperor of Austria, to whom
they must be returned on the death Of
the knights. The ceremony of investi
ture is as follows: The delegate APP
pointed by the Spanish or Austrian
Government, and two godfathers, who
must be members of the order, go to
the new knight and announce to him
his selection by saying: " His Majesty
the King of Spain (or Emperor of
Austria) has appointed your Highness
Tor Excellency) a chevalier-confr9re OF
the worthy order of the Golden Fleece.
and for that purpose his Majesty has
commissioned NJ. =, who requests to
know whether your Highness accepts
this appointment, so that he may be-
stow it upon you in lieu and place of
his Majesty. | have come to ask your
Highness if you consent to your APP
pointment into the order and accept
the investiture." The answer is given
with the words, "Je Padmets, ct rae
cepte." Then the secretary of the
delegate reads the royal commission,
hands it to the delegate, who in turn
transfers it to the ewknight, to whom
the secretary delivers receipt
for the entrance fee; the delegate
now takes the collar from it's
case, but before he places it
around the neck of the knight the
latter pronounces VOW to defend and
support the Catholic Church and reli-
gion-an oath which President Grevy
was, at his request, dispensed from
taking when he received the collar two
years ago. The delegate then asks the
following questions /: His Majesty the
King of Spain Tor Emperor of Austria),
chief and grand master of the order,
wishing to give your Excellency proof
of the high esteem that he has for you,
and hoping to see you contri-
butte to the dignity and honor
of this worthy order, wishes you
one of its knightly brothers. Does
your Highness promise to wear these
insignia without forfeiture to honor,
and to always show yourself worthy of
the favor of which you are the object 2"
The answer to this question is, 81
promise it." Then the delegate asks:
"Does your Highness accept the oath
of the order which is known to you?"
When the answer, 81 accept it, has
been made the two sponsors take the
knight by the arms, and the delegate
passes the collar over his head, after
which the secretary draws up in French
a minute of the proceedings, which is
signed by the knight, his sponsors, and
the secretary.
All three Presidents of the third
French republic, NJ. Theirs, Marshal
MacMahon, and NJ. Grevy, were in
turn thus honored by the late King of
Spain, it being one Of the traditions of
the Spanish Government TO show this
courtesy to the Chief Magistrate of
France, be he king, emperor, or presi-
dent. A careful record is kept of the
"oRDER OF DESCENT" OF EACH COLLAR,
and thus it is known that the one be-
slowed by Ferdinand v. on Christie
pher Columbus is the one now held by
King Hubmert OF Italy. M. Thiers's
collar once belonged to Prince Alex
ander of Orange, heir 10 the crown of